This sector is the second most important in terms of Peru's total exports and in 2022 it employed 25.6% of the working population.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$85 million loan to improve productivity levels in Peru's agricultural sector by providing producers with greater access to agricultural innovation, technology transfer and extension services.

The agricultural sector is the second most important sector in terms of Peru's total exports and in 2022 it employed 25.6% of the working population. One of the problems that the sector suffers from is its low level of productivity in the mountains and the jungle, where 85% of family farmers are located.

Other weaknesses that this project will try to alleviate are the low investment in agricultural research and a poorly developed technology transfer.

The loan approved by the IDB's Board of Executive Directors will strengthen research capabilities to diversify the technological solutions generated by the Institute for Agrarian Innovation (INIA). It is also planned to improve the coverage of the agricultural extension service with a focus on family farming.

The project will benefit more than 6,000 suppliers of the Agricultural Extension Service and some 92,000 producers. Indirectly, some two million family farmers in Peru will benefit, since the results of the research will be disseminated throughout the country.

When it comes to diversifying technological solutions, special attention will be paid to the challenges of climate change and the creation of opportunities for rural women and ethnic groups.

The investments will focus on a network of six agricultural experimental stations in Andenes, Baños del Inca, El Porvenir, Illpa, Santa Ana and Vista Florida, which will cover the jungle, mountains and coast, the three main agroecosystems of the Andean country.

It is also planned to strengthen INIA's capabilities for technology transfer and to finance the design, implementation and validation of six technology transfer models and six agricultural extension models for this Institute.

The IDB loan has an 18-year amortization period and a six-year grace period.